Chapter 3: Back in Time

"Mom! Souta! Grandpa! Mom, I'm here!" Kagome called out genially to her mother, dragging a confused Ian behind her. She could tell he had a question, but he was obviously waiting to voice his inquiry until he had seen more. Finally, it became apparent that he could hold back his question no longer, as it seemed to burst from him in an excited rush.

"You-Do you- I mean, do you...live here? In this- this- this place! It's huge!"

She waited, still smiling, for his stuttered string of inquiries and awes to finish before answering with a laugh lying just beneath her words. "No. I used to live here. I grew up here. Have you met Grandpa yet? He would have been the shrine priest."

(A/N: remember, he was walking out of the shrine when she saw him!)

Still walking, Ian replied, still in awe at his surroundings. "Nn-Yes! Wait, that excentric little priest is your grandfather! Man, he's crazy!" Kagome couldn't help but to burst out laughing at his comments. Finally, someone other than her little brother agreed with her that her grandfather was crazy! They came to a stop in front of the Goshinboku (Sacred God Tree), where Ian just stared as Kagome moved forward to place her daily offering and pray at Inuyasha's small shrine.

Ian watched as she prayed with what could only be described as jubilation and yet, at the same time, saddness. He pitied the girl. The shrine must have belonged to someone very close to her. Her father, maybe? He had noticed that when she had entered the shrine grounds she had not called out to her father. Was this the reason? Because she was speaking with him now? Waiting until she was finished praying, he turned to her and asked her,

"Was that...your dad? The shrine, I mean. Is that for your dad?" He said it cautiously, unsure of how she would react.

Slightly startled, she turned to him. She wasn't sure she had heard him right. Had he just asked-?

"C-Come again?"

"Your dad... is that shrine for him? Did he... Did he die?"

This time she was prepared for the question, and answered quickly.

"No. No, Dad's shrine is...is more to the north of the compound. Along with grandmother's. This...This one is...his."

"Do you mind if I ask who?"

"Inuyasha's." Her relpy was simple and short, but Ian could tell she was about to burst into tears again. But the name. The name was familiar. Hadn't it been what she had called him on the shrine steps when she had first made eye contact with him? Yes, yes, he was certain of it now! That had been what she had called him: Inuyasha. He longed to inquire as to who this person was, but something told him that doing so now would result in an emotional breakdown of sorts on her part.

Standing up suddenly, she took hold of Ian's shirt and tugged him lightly in the direction of the main house. He noticed that all the tears which had threatened to flow from her eyes had suddenly dried up. Smiling once again, she said,

"Come on, Ian! We can have lunch! Mom makes great tempura!"

Returning her smile, Ian nodded and followed. As they got closer to the house, a small boy with hair as dark as his sister's, who looked to be in about the fifth grade, burst forth from the shoji doors and sprinted the remainder of the distance across the compound to them.

"Neechan, Inuyasha-niichan, you're here! Mom just finished the tempura, Kagome. Inuyasha, come on! Mom made ramen just for you! Hurry up before it tastes funny!"

"Ah! Souta! I missed you! How did your soccer game go yesterday? Did you win?"

"Yea! 17 to 8! I scored 8 goals!"

Ian just stared as the two talked. Again, with that name! What apparent resemblence did he have to this 'Inuyasha' anyway! He couldn't hold back anymore, he had to ask her.

"Kagome!"

She turned to face him and looked softly into his flaming eyes, eyes which she knew better than anything. She knew exactly what he wanted to ask her, what he needed to ask her. Knowing this, she turned back to Souta and said calmly, "Souta, would you please go on ahead? Ian and I will be just a minute."

"Ian? Who's Ia-?" he stopped short, seeing the look she gave him, which plainly said, "If you value your life, don't argue. Just go." He waved to his sister and ran inside.

Turning back to Ian, Kagome had barely stood there for three seconds before Ian burst.

"Why does everyone keep calling me 'Inuyasha'? First you, now your brother! Next I expect your mom will come out and call me the same! What is with this name and why is it everytime you see me, your eyes flood wi-"

Kagome cut him short by leaping into his arms. They really were so much alike, it was startling! If he wasn't Inuyasha, she didn't know what she'd do.

"What the-? What's wrong now!" he couldn't help but to shout at her. His temper was frayed like the end of a worn rope, and he wanted answers!

"If...If you want...answers...let's walk...To the Goshinboku..." she was crying again. She couldn't help it! His outburst so reminded her of the many time Inuyasha had done the same to her.

Stopping in front of the Goshinboku, Kagome released Ian as they both turned to face the sacred tree. Kagome's eyes fluttered mommentarily over the shrine as she watched Ian's face, carefully monitering his expressions.

"Why...Why is it that i feel...drawn to this tree? It's like something is calling me to it..."

"It's part of your soul..." Kagome replied softly.

"Part of my...my what?"

"Your soul. Or that's what Kaede; an old priestess, and Grandpa said. They said that when you came back, you would most likely be drawn to the Goshinboku tree because your soul had made a mark on it from when Kikyo shot you to the tree."

"What the hell are you-"

"Please, bear with me. I know this all sounds so far beyond belief and probably makes no sense at all to you. I think...that in order to explain it more...I may need Sango and Miroku's help. Come on." she said softly, tugging once again on his shirt sleeve and dragging him the direction of an old well house.

"Waaait a minute! Where are you taking me?" Ian snapped. His voice was instantly silenced by the look Kagome gave him over her shoulder. It was a look that screamed, "Just shut up, already!"

Kagome pulled him through the doors of the old well house and down the stairs, releasing his sleeve long enough to remove the protective seals on the cover of the well.'This will let me know if you really are him, she thought hopefully.

"Get in." she said, nudging him towards the now open well.

"What? Are you crazy? I could break my leg!" Ian shouted irately, uncomfortably surveying the 15 to 20 foot height difference between him and the bottom of the well. Was this girl round the bend?

"You won't. You're a half demon, meaning you have better reflexes than any human."

Ian was startled when she said this. How did she, this strange girl he had just met, know his family's and his best kept secret? What was she?

"How did you- How do you know- ?"

"Get in." she shoved him, causing him to catch his thigh on the lip of the well and fall through the air. He watched in awe as a blue light swallowed him up, and unbeknowst to him, transported him 500 years back in time.